The state-of-charge (SOC) of a high-voltage battery, such as the type commonly used for vehicle propulsion in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), generally refers to the amount of charge or energy that remains in the battery and is usually expressed in terms of a percentage. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that it may be desirable to maintain certain types of batteries, like those based on lithium-ion chemistries, within a predetermined SOC range. Overcharging and/or undercharging the battery so that its SOC goes beyond the boundaries or limits of the predetermined SOC range may result in diminished battery life, battery performance, vehicle fuel economy and/or other undesirable consequences.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have an accurate state-of-charge (SOC) estimate for the battery, as it can be difficult to properly maintain the battery within the predetermined SOC range if the present SOC value is not accurately known. One factor that can potentially impact the accuracy of the SOC estimate is processor speed; that is, the speed of the control module processors that govern the devices that are consuming energy and that are performing the SOC calculations. For example, if a suspension control module operates at a faster processor speed than that of a battery control module which performs the actual SOC calculations, then the battery control module may not account for all of the energy that is being consumed by the suspension devices under the governance of the suspension control module. This could lead to an inaccurately low SOC estimate, which in turn makes maintaining the battery within the predetermined SOC range more difficult.